Israel said to tell US, EU that significant Iranian enrichment could trigger strike

In recent talks, Israel has told the US and several European countries that if Iran significantly enriches uranium above 60% it could trigger an Israeli strike against its nuclear facilities, the Axios news site reports.

The report comes after the discovery in February that Iran had enriched some uranium to almost 84% purity, just shy of the 90% needed for weapons-grade material.

Citing a senior Israeli official, the report says that Israel did not view that as a cause for attack because it was just a small amount. However, if there was significant enrichment above 60% that would be a different story.

The report cites a second official as saying that Israel believes the message has been passed to Iran.

“The Iranians totally internalized our position and they know what our [red] line is,” the official is quoted as saying.

The report also notes that Israel is pressing the US to speed up the delivery of four KC-46 refueling tankers that Jerusalem purchased last year, which would be needed for a strike.